Only Human
by ncfan
Summary: Stop trying so hard," she urges him. /He wishes he could believe her./ Poll request.


On the poll on my profile this choice was in the lead so I wrote a oneshot about it. If you want to see a oneshot about another character or character combination, tune in to my poll.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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"You're going to hurt yourself if you keep on like this."

That is Tenten's shrewd observation as she leans against the wall, watching Neji continue to train in the rain, despite the fact that he fell flat on his face ten seconds earlier, splattering mud against his shirt.

The training post is going to die today, Neji decides as he renews his attack on it with doubled ferocity.

It was a stinging remark of Hiashi-sama's that set him off; somehow, it's _always_ that. Neji had thought he'd gotten past the point that Hiashi-sama's subtle insults hurt him years ago, but evidently not.

"_If you hope to beat me, then you must become stronger. You are useless to me as you are."_

The rain falls heavily on the ground, making it slick and smooth and muddy. Tenten and Neji are both getting soaked, and neither seem to care.

Tenten has stood in the shadow of the wall for three hours, her face shadowed and closed as she watches Neji's brutal self-punishment. Her eyes narrow as he displays the extent of his obsession with destroying the training post.

As Neji kicks, punches and slams again and again, he thinks that he wouldn't be feeling so bruised if this was Hiashi himself he was battling.

It's just a training post, but it's so inflexible that it hurts far more than human blows ever could.

"Is this because of what your uncle said?" Tenten's voice carries a sharp edge like one of her tanto as she speaks; her eyes flash like strange dull topaz.

Neji ignores her, but the set of his jaw says _Yes_.

The skin on his knuckles is buckling now, he knows it. Not from cold, but from raw force. He pushes those thoughts out of his mind, because he can't afford to think about his body at the moment.

If Neji thinks about it, his life has been one big attempt to get stronger. It hasn't done him a whole lot of good though, because at the end of the day he's still a Caged Bird and Hiashi-sama still holds the power of life and death over him.

Because Neji knows that nothing will ever be good enough to take that mark off of his forehead.

The wood of the training post splinters and crashes, and Neji falls through. He lands flat on his face in the mud, choking on it and spluttering wildly.

He hears the squish of sandals against mud, and Tenten is there, drawing him up with a hand under his arm. "I told you. But you never listen, do you."

She mutely draws him to a dry place, under the awning, and they crouch on the ground. Neji looks down at his hands and is shocked by what he sees. The skin on his knuckles is hanging off by hanks, blood oozing from the open flesh. All the other skin is black and blue from bruises, and he realizes just how much his sore hands ache.

_Did I really do all of this?_

Tenten notices. Biting her lip grimly she draws a roll of bandages and a white bottle. She starts to pull at the loose skin on his knuckles.

"This will twinge," she mutters.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't," Neji retorts, wincing as she does her deed.

Tenten's mouth twists in wry humor as she quickly finishes her task. Then she draws the bottle. "And this will burn." It is disinfectant, and it does burn. It's over soon though, and she's wrapping bandages around his hands with the deftness that only a kunoichi could ever possess.

"I feel like I have to, you know?" Neji feels like he has to defend his actions, like Tenten's said something to challenge him.

She hasn't, but she understands. Tenten's matter-of-fact eyes soften slightly as she closes her small hand over his. "Stop trying so hard," she urges him.

Neji glares slightly at her. He knows that she knows he can't "stop". "I have to get stronger. Nothing else will satisfy him."

She shakes her head, her eyes clouding with sadness. "You're only human, Neji. You can't do everything. You don't have to keep living up to your uncle's expectations, and you don't have to keep making your body pay the price."

For the moment, Neji allows himself to be persuaded by her rational argument, but deep down, Neji wishes he could genuinely believe what she says.

He wishes he could believe it. But he can't.


End file.
